Bidayuh: We must Work Hard

Posted by Mon on January 20, 2005 at 17:01:35:

Dear fellow bidayuh,

Let me take this opportunity to share with you my life experience as a bidayuh. The story created is real, and hopefully it can become a life learning to our bidayuh community. We should live to work hard, respect amongst our bidayuh community, support each other and must not easily giving up in doing something. We must be ambitious, confidence, have the strength, wisdom and believe in ourselves in everything we do.

I came from a very poor family. My father was a carpenter and my mother was a farmer then. They worked very hard those days to earn money to support our living. What I can remember during my kid years that, we were living in a small house made by “daun nipah”. I’m the youngest in my family. I have 2 brothers and six sisters. My eldest sister had passed away at the age of 2.

Prior to enroll primary school, I used to help my parent to “toreh getah” and “plant paddy”. My father did so many odd jobs just to support our living. My parent worked so hard just to earn money to support my brothers and my sisters’ education. My mother used to carry heavy “jumbuak” to kuching town and sell those jungle resources in an exchange for money. We could earn at most around RM40 per day. With the money, my mother will buy daily living expenses like sugar, salt and ketchup. I really miss those days. My mother normally sell “buah asam, daun paku-pakis, umbung, rattan products, rambutan”, and many others jungle resources. We would normally take a bus from bau to go to kuching town.

At my young age, I really envy those kids whose families were afford to buy bicycle and other kids’ game. I was aware that my parent couldn’t afford to buy one for me as they did not have enough money to buy unnecessary things.

My eldest brother worked as a clerk. While, my sisters were still studying in ITM. They were lucky to earn a scholarship in pursuing their diplomas. In those years, I never had a great ambition becoming successful businessmen, or a doctor, or lawyer or one of the most successful corporate leader. I have only one ambition, which was to become a PILOT. According to my sisters, those pilot were very smart and clever people. Therefore, they were advising me, to study hard when I enroll into school. I always imagined and wondered how it feels when sit in the airplane. I have no ideas at the time that our western cultures were advanced. We have no TVs or even radio to listen and expose to outside world.

I still remember the first day when I entered primary one. My father carried me at his back (hunch back) as that morning was rainy. I guessed the distance to walk could be similar from 7th mile to 3rd mile. On my first day in school, I was nervous, guessed, I was not a smart student and could be easily influence by others.

A year after that, my family moved from the jungle to stay in kampung. When my sisters graduated from ITM, they earned their first job in banking. I think my eldest brother (who worked as a clerk) and my second eldest sister had spent most of their salaries to support my parent to build a new house in kampung. It was a small propose built kampung house style anyway. My house was near to school and it would normally takes 4 minutes to reach it. As I was very young at my age, never been exposed to kampung life, I started to slowly mix my kampung folks. I guessed I was very a naughty boy during my school years. Being easily influence by my bidayuh friends, we neglected our studies. After school, we would normally go fishing, play football and do other activities (like hunting in the jungle) with my friends. At the same time, during weekend I help my parent plant paddy and gardening. Still, my parent worked very hard though they were getting older and older.

Those years had passed by, very fast, as I reached form 3. I managed to pass the SRP exam with grade A. However, I would not consider that was not satisfactory result as most of my papers scored 7. I only managed to score 3 in Bahasa Malaysia and 1 in art. From that moment I realized I would not become a pilot as I couldn’t enroll into science side. I couldn’t remember why, for my second ambition, I interested to become an architect one day. However, I failed my SPM examination in which I scored only grade 3. I really felt depressed with my results and I felt those hope were dash. My dream to become an architect won’t be achieved. I knew I have failed myself and failed my dreams. However, my sisters urged me to repeat the exam. They were giving full support and advised me to study hard. After repeat, I only managed to scored an average results of 6 points in most of the subjects except, 1 in art again, managed to score grade 2.

With that result, I do not know what can I do with it. It was lucky at the time, that ITM would accept student to take pre-commerce course provided that their bahasa melayu and English were credits and passed mathematic. I was qualified to enter the course with a below average result. When I entered ITM, I realized, I should maximize my time to study to achieve a better result for an eligibility to do diploma course. I managed to score an excellent result in which it earned myself a half-year pre-commerce course and jumped to the next level of the first semester in Diploma in Business Studies. I didn’t do well in my Diploma course and scored CGPA of 2.98 pointer out of 4.00. This was considered not a satisfactory result that would guarantee my place to pursue my degree. I really envy my course-mates who scored better results and earned a place in degree level. While I was stuck, and unemployed for almost a year, I did an odd jobs. I used to work as “painter worker”, “kitchen helper at one of the restaurant in kuching”, “part-time waiter in kuching Hilton” and help my parent plant paddy, cocoa, plant “lada”.

Until 1 day, one of the private college from KL gave me a call that I was one which choosed under MARA programme to do twinning programme with UK’s university. I don’t know how lucky I am, wondering how they could have a contact number of me. I immediately informed my sisters about the offers. They were advising me to be serious and careful about the offer because they were curious if the offer was genuine. I didn’t think much of it and I took a big risk by accepting the offer and packed my things to go to KL. I was desperately want to pursue my degree though my diploma results had been unsatisfactory. I have a mix feelings leaving my parent who were getting old. My mother managed to fork her own money around RM400 for me to finance my living expenses. I felt very sad about leaving them, but I need to sacrifice my career, my hope, my dreams and my ambition. When I reached Subang airport, took a cab to find the location of the private college, carrying 2 big bags. I was alone during the journey, not very familiar with surrounding. As I reached the college, I was brief by the registrar about my accommodation, my college fees, my courses and my scholarship. I realized when I reached the college that there were no scholarship but the college was still arranging. I could have said that I was cheated. Knowing that I can’t guarantee of my degree recognition. I didn’t let my parent know that there was a problem as they would have been worried about me. I continued my studies there as usual while during weekend I have to work part-time waiter to support my college living for a week. I would normally earned RM70 for 14 hours working time. I started from 5pm to the next day 7am. A year studying with the college, though achieved a satisfactory result, that there was no sponsor in pursuing my final year degree in UK. Even, my degree was not recognised by government. I have floating days not knowing what to do. I was very frustrated that my degree was not recognized. The college was ban and closed by the minister of education. We were cheated with those promises by the private college that we could fly overseas pursued our degree courses. My sisters were worried about my education and urged me to return to kuching and find works to do. I refused to return and keep fight to earn my first degree. We fight our rights with the college to resolve the matter. We have searched, tried to enroll local universities and other private colleges for the transfer. However, none would want to accept us, until one day, only ITM could accept our transfer. It was a lucky offer from ITM, thanks to ITM and those my friends who had fight to earn the place. When I completed my first degree, I managed to an excellence result. From the moment I started to believe in myself, have self-confidence, never give up in what you dream to achieve. God will always care your wish if you honestly do what is good for yourself and others. While you are running for an achievement and success, you should not forget who you are, where you from, how hard your parent grow us, never feel shame that you are a bidayuh who came from a poor family, be proud of yourself. Now, I’m working in a big organization, holding a better position, seeking for exposures, seek new challenges.

Moral of the story that I want to share with my fellow bidayuh. You must be proud of your race. Never give up to achieve your ambition. We must educate our children while they are still young. Let them learn of working hard, teach them to never give up when they fail. Must never satisfy with what we have achieved. We must support our bidayuh in whatever we can. At least what I’m sharing here can motivate our fellow bidayuh community. Though this story may not be great to those who are unlucky, they should never let their feelings down. We should work hard. Let our children appreciate what our parent had sacrificed. We teach to respect our parent.

I should encourage other bidayuh to share their success story in this article. We must move ahead and never be complacent with what we have now.

Lastly, “Build your dreams, love our race, be proud that you are bidayuh and we must work hard”. Don’t waste our money and time on unnecessary things. Money work for money. SAY, “I LOVE MY BIDAYUH CULTURES, PEOPLE, VALUE AND RACE”.

Good luck to everyone in achievement their dreams. My apologize if what i've mentioned here may have different feelings on others.